Heart In Hand
by St. Alicon
Summary: The battle is won, or is it? Naruto is faced with a hard decision regarding the future of his friend and near brother. The wrong choice may cost both of them their lives, or it might save them all.


**A/N: Rewrite. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, please refrain from sueing me.**

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**Heart In Hand**

Prolouge

0

Naruto stared out into the churning waves from his vantage point, he was slumped near the edge of a small crater in the cliff-face. Though he lay bonelessly against the rough rock his eyes were narrowed in the silent fury of intense thought. An inner turmoil raged on, as turbulent as the waves crashing against the rock-face below. Until it was solved he wouldn't be moving from this stop any time soon.

_"Why.. Sasuke, you threw it all away. For power...?"_

The blond couldn't believe it, that someone would throw away their life for something as fleeting as strength. It was inconceivable. But that wasn't all. His victory felt hollow, though he knew there was cause for rejoicing. He was going to keep his promise.

Naruto shook his head. No, he knew what was wrong, why he didn't feel the satisfaction of having brought his friend back from the darkness. It was because he hadn't, not at all. Sasuke was theirs, he was still bound to Orochimaru and all he had done was delay the inevitable. He hated this feeling, hated knowing that he didn't have what it takes to accomplish something that had seemed so simple. Bring Sasuke back to Konoha, back home.

No matter what he did, he realized, Sasuke would probably just bide his time and prepare for the next chance he got to escape. Eventually he would run again, and no matter how many times he was dragged back beaten, and bloody, he would never stop trying. Not after that little taste of power Orochimaru had given him.

In the end, trying to stop him had been as useless as Sasuke had said it would be. Because Sasuke would always see Konoha as a breeding ground for weakness compared to the illusion of greatness Orochimaru had fed through the power of the Cursed Seal.

Naruto was tired, sweaty, and covered what was mostly his own dried blood. He wanted nothing more than to lay in the rubble and sleep, where his troubles couldn't reach him. Instead he forced himself up and hopped, more like fell, down to where Sasuke's prone form was waiting on the small rocky beach below.

Regarding what he had at one time considered his brother, Naruto was torn. He could take Sasuke back to Konoha with him, or, as much as even considering it made him sick in ways he couldn't put into words, leave him here and save them both the pain of another attempted defection.

Naruto made what felt like the hardest descision in his life. Stooping over, he threw Sasuke over his shoulder. He looked up into the clearing sky, where the sun was batting away the remaining clouds. It filled his vision, golden rays digging painfully at his eyes.

Once he started there would be, could be, no going back. He was doubting himself, truthfully this was one of those few moments where his never-ending self-confidence failed him.

Inhaling sharply he did what he always did, he persevered.

He took a step

-

Naruto poked about the small rudimentary campfire he'd made with a stubby stick. The steady crackle and pop of the orange flames was soothing to his frayed nerves, more than he would have cared to admit. He never liked to conceeding to worry or fear.

It had taken hours of staring into the fire, but he had eventually calmed down enough that he could muster enough concentration to think about something other than his unplanned road trip.

_"I wonder what my friends are up to. Do you think they'll be mad when I dont' come back? Or Maybe they think I died..."_ The thought turned his stomach, he hated to make his loved ones worry.

Naruto sighed, blowing away ash and making the embers infront of him glow with renewed heat. As selfish as it was, he somtimes relished the worry even as it filled his stomach with grief. Just the fact that they were, may, be worried about him sent pleasant tingles down his spine. Even after all he'd been through, sometimes it was still hard to believe that he actually had friends. _Real_ friends!

Shifting his gaze from the flames, he turned to regard Sasukes' unconsious form. Speaking of friends...

_"Sasuke..."_

He really couldn't tell what his feelings for the last Uchiha were anymore. But he knew that something had changed. There was no denying that. A twinge of betrayal. A skimming of skum polluting something that had once been sweet and innocent. It had started out as a rivalry but had become so much more without either of them noticing.

_"If that's the case, then I'll break those bonds!"_

His hands clenched the fabric of his torn orange pants as the echo of those hateful words sounded in his ears.

_"Chidori!"_

Yes, something had changed between them, some important foundation had been twisted beyond recognition.

But not broken. He wouldn't allow it to break. Not as long as he still held breathe.

-

Saskue swam in and out of consciousness, hovering at the edge of the waking world and blissful darkness. It was in one of his more lucid moments that he realized he was moving. No, that wasn't quite right. It felt like someone was... carrying him?

"Sasuke?"

Naruto's concerned voice floated questioningly through him.

"Naruto... what...?" Sasuke was surprised how hard it was to talk. His throat felt like he had attempted to gargle sandpaper. "Where am I--Where are you taking me?" His face burned with heat and he could feel moisture beading on his forehead. _"What's wrong with me?"_

"Not to Orochimaru, and that's all that matters." Naruto answered in a calm, almost far away tone. It was edged with a familiar determination.

Sasuke would have scowled if his temples weren't throbbing so much. He didn't remember it all, the fighting had been frantic and it was more trouble than it should be to put all the pieces together, but he remembered enough. Naruto had defeated him, stopped him from reaching Orochimaru. From gaining the power he longed desperately for. His eyes glazed at the thought, with what Orochimaru could offer him he would be able to _that _man so much easier. Sasuke frowned. If there was any weakness of his own he despised the most, it was the inability to even think his brothers' name. No, it was best not to dwell on that. If he hurried, he was sure he could still reach Orochimaru before he lost his chance. He didn't think the man would refuse him if he were late, but there was no poitn in taking chances.

Tiredly, Sasuke tried to force his aside the throbbing in his temples and come up with a probable escape plan as he channeled chakra to his eyes. It felt... odd, for some reason.

"...Dobe... Let me... Turn..." He layred pain thickly into his inflection, surprised at how easy it was, he hardly had to try. That was worrysome, but he pushed that too from his mind, he could worry about his health after he had escaped. Hopefully Naruto would take the sudden spike in his chakra was from pain.

_"There!" _ With a triumphant smirk Sasuke felt his Sharingan activate. But something wasn't right, before he could figure out what a sudden intense pain wracked through him as the headache he had been repressing blazed forth, swelling behind his eyes. Spots danced in his vision and he couldn't fight down the scream that came unbidden to his lips.

Naruto jerked to a halt as Sasuke spasmed against his back with a cry, before slumping against him. He frowned to himself as he looked over his shoulder at his tratiorous brother.

_'Sasuke...you're an idiot, ya know that?' _He had felt the spike, but had not thought anything of it until now. Odds were Sasuke had burnt out some of his tenketsu during the fight and had found out the hard way what happened when you tried to channel through damaged chakra points. He recalled that agony very clearly. It brought up thoughts of his friends.

Sighing, the blond Shinobi turned back to his current occupation, getting as far away from Konohagakure no Sato as humanly possible. Probably not the best idea he had ever had, but Naruto had a plan in mind. He didn't know whether his friends would agree with it or not, probably not, it was unlikely and farfetched, but he was going to go through with it anyway. His destination was far, and to be honest he wasn't entirely sure where it was. That hadn't stopped him before, though, and it would not do so now. Shifting Sasuke so he lay more comfortably he resumed his trek.


End file.
